Reliever Joe Ross turns up the music for win in first home outing
Brandon Marsh couldn’t believe his ears as the speakers blared ahead of Phillies reliever Joe Ross’ first appearance in red pinstripes.
As Ross marched onto the field from the bullpen in right-center field, the song “Chrome Heart Tags” by Philadelphia-native rapper Lil Uzi Vert blasted from a Citizens Bank Park sound system that was upgraded with 28 additional subwoofers in the upper decks for the 2025 season. Marsh, a notorious Lil Uzi fan, was in his happy place, singing and dancing along while Ross completed his warm-up pitches before the top of the seventh inning.
When they got back to the dugout, Marsh needed to track him down and tell Ross how much he enjoyed the “unexpected” introduction music.
“Damn, bro,” the center fielder told his new teammate, “I didn’t know you had Uzi in you like that.”
Ross, the 31-year-old right-hander who signed a one-year deal with the Phillies for this season, wanted to choose a local artist for his first outing in Philly. He landed on Lil Uzi to pump him up as he took the mound. The grand entrance was a success as Ross pitched a scoreless inning, earning a win after the Phillies came back to defeat the Rockies, 6-1, in the club’s home opener on Monday afternoon.
“It was awesome,” Ross said, “just pitching at home for the first time here for me as a Phillie. It was kind of like everything I expected, energy wise, from the crowd and loud music and experiencing all the things that I usually see from the other side. And then getting to come in and feeling pretty good and getting a pretty clean inning, I was definitely excited.”
Marsh’s love for hip-hop music — and specifically for Lil Uzi — is no secret. He uses two Uzi tracks, “444+222” and “Pluto to Mars,” as his own walk-up music before his at-bats. Ross said Marsh’s reaction to the song was “hilarious.” The upbeat outfielder was excited to have another Phillie join the club.
“I was bobbing out there,” Marsh said. “I loved it. I had no idea that’s what he was going with. And when he went with it, I was like, OK, this definitely just brought the vibes up.”
The Phillies (3-1) inserted Ross in the seventh while trailing by one, able to be aggressive with their bullpen usage with an off day looming on Tuesday. Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez allowed just one solo home run in 5 1/3 innings, while righty Orion Kerkering entered to finish off the sixth.
Ross, a 6-foot-4 former starter, looked sharp. He worked around a single from the speedy Brenton Doyle and struck out one batter. He threw 14 pitches and his sinker touched 95 mph.
After Ross pitched the top of the seventh, Philadelphia’s offense responded with a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning. Edmundo Sosa delivered a go-ahead, two-RBI double and Kyle Schwarber piled on with a no-doubt two-run home run to center.
Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos added back-to-back homers in the eighth. Relievers José Alvarado and Jordan Romano slammed the door shut in the last two innings. The Phillies put on a late show for the home crowd.
“I felt like we were putting good at-bats together,” Marsh, who was lifted in the seventh for a pinch-hitting Trea Turner, said of the early offense. “It just wasn’t really falling our way, hitting balls hard at people. Sanchy pitched a heck of a game — Orion, Romano, Ross and everyone. It took all of us today, and it showed what kind of team we are and what everyone can bring to the table.”
Ross could emerge as an important piece of the bullpen this year behind the Phillies’ top arms. Still new to relieving full-time, he’s made a strong impression so far. Ross debuted in 2015 with the Nationals and was primarily a starter for most of his career. However, a switch to the bullpen for the Brewers last August has elicited some intriguing results.
Ross had a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings across 15 games as a reliever in 2024. And after allowing a run in a win against his former team in Washington on Saturday, his second game with the Phillies went smoothly.
Alvarado, Kerkering, Romano and Matt Strahm will take most of the high-leverage spots for the Phillies, but there’s not much certainty after that group. Someone else will need to step up in the middle and late innings, and Ross could be a pitcher the team relies on, as it did against Colorado.
Ross could separate himself as the next reliever in the pecking order with quality appearances in those kinds of opportunities. He turned up the music for Monday’s.
“I love hearing all the songs here in the stadium,” Ross said. “They definitely do it right with the sound system. So it went well. I’m glad it went as well as I was hoping it would in my head.”